20/20 VCR Horror: How VCRs Destroyed America's Youth!

This is a 20/20 piece that aired in 1987 (or at least I believe it's from 1987) that shed much needed light on the 'VCR Horrors' that shattered the lives of children across America, turning them into sadistic serial murderers and rapists. Please, be warned, what you are about to see is filled with more vicious hyperbole than one should ever endure in one sitting.

"Graphic orgies of blood and violence!"

"It's always a female victim, and it's generally in a sexual context"

Dear god, if it wasn't for this informative news report, we all would've been screwed by this point. Imagine if 20/20 hadn't run this story, warning parents about little Suzy and Tommy attending these "gross out parties," the world would be littered with rabid males foaming at the mouth, while the female population would have drastically dropped due to a rash of rape and murder. Certainly a far cry from that cute and cuddly Frankenstein film from 1931 or that shower scene in 1960's Psycho.

It's interesting watching something like this news report, or any one of the many slanderous stories that came from the era covering similar subject matters concerning horror films and their impact on society (Siskel & Ebert or Morton Downey Jr. taking on Slasher films, for example). It brings back the frustrations of a time when censorship ran as rampant as masked serial killers, the MPAA was destroying art in the name of the lord, horror magazines were pulled from shelves to cool off some angry childless adult, and the only ones left to suffer were the fans, who wanted nothing more than to enjoy the genre we love best.

On the other hand, though, when I see a piece like this, it also reminds me of how fucking awesome the '80s were for horror fans. Never was the genre more popular than during the VHS boom, and the censorship and being all pissed off about it is something I look back on quite fondly, to be honest. The controversy surrounding a handful of horror films stirred up incredible interest in those movies for many of us, and the unattainability of certain tapes only made them more desirable. The censorship of the era gave fans something to be passionate about and, in some capacity, may have formed my youthful rebellious ways, which is something I can say is and will always be, a part of my nature.

So fuck you, 20/20. We're still here and so aren't the movies we love, and - outside of that one time behind a Cumberland Farms after buying a chilly dog and a pack of menthols - I have never attempted to rape or murder anyone.

Totally Tubular Trailers

Directed by Tim Fehlbaum, Hell is a German post-apocalyptic film set in a time when that pesky ozone layer finally decided to find a better job, leaving the world to be pounded by intense heat on a constant basis. Now, I won't hold it against this film that Roland Emmerich (director of movies so terrible that even Uwe Boll can't help but feel cheated by his success) is the film's producer, as that means very little as far as direction goes, I hope. But I will say that the film certainly suffers from a strong case of the unoriginals.

Hell follows a group of survivors who are traveling in a sun protected car (?) as they make their way to a promised land where water is said to be abundant. Naturally, the survivors will find themselves facing off against a group of undesirables that probably want to eat their skin. They also pick up a helpful mechanic, but they aren't really sure if they can fully trust him or not. So, yeah, that's about as standard as it gets, folks. That is a post-apocalypse 101 from top to bottom. Regardless of an Emmerich presence and the been there done that plot, I think the film looks pretty fantastic. Take a look at the non-English trailer below to see if you feel otherwise.  

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The nest trailer for the evening comes in the form Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's Intruders. Intruders appears to tell the story of a father and his two children who are plagued by visions of a monster, or at least that's what I take from the trailer as actual details for the film are somewhat scarce. What I do know is Intruders stars one Mr. Clive Owen, a man that I will always champion due to my incredible love for Children of Men. In addition, Intruders looks like it could be somewhat creepy despite appearing to be yet another film that is not all too original. Either way, director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has a great track record in his short career, and I have faith that he can deliver another solid horror film following his fantastic sequel, 28 Weeks Later.

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The preview for Álex de la Iglesia's The Last Circus is one that simply has to be seen to be believed. I don't think that I can even come close to crafting a tight and precise synopsis, as this thing is simply all over the place in a way that is difficult to take in all at once. This trailer is pure madness, and I'm really not sure what to make of it outside of the fact that I know that I cannot wait to see the film. Get ready for lots of very scary looking clowns with lots of real badass weapons.

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After the Quintanilla family are found murdered in their country vacation home, the only evidence as to what may have happened are found in video footage that has been conveniently compiled into a film for us to watch. You know, in case we can help crack the case. Directed by Fernando Barreda Luna, Atrocious is yet another entry into the handheld horror genre, and being a Spanish made film, yet another of this ever growing genre coming from a foreign territory. 

Now, at what point does the handheld genre jump the shark and become incredibly tiresome for everyone (well, for me at least)? Despite my kneejerk reaction of enough is enough whenever I see that another found footage film is on the way, I quickly remember that I love this genre and have rarely been let down by the bigger films that have come from it. Still, I get that feeling that the good outweighing the not so good cannot last forever, but until that time comes, I'll be looking forward to most of what the genre has to offer, and that includes Atrocious.

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Following a  plot that seems moderately similar to that of the Academy award-winning film, The Fighter, Chris Sivertson's Brawler follows a pair of brothers who both partake in illegal, New Orleans riverboat fights. The two have many issues to deal with between their underground fights, personal vices, the mob boss they work for, and, most importantly, themselves. Despite the film's surficial lack of originality (which isn't the biggest deal in a film such as this), I'm always down for a movie where people get their asses kicked, especially when it's wrapped around with some good brotherly drama. The trailer shows a lot of promise, and if the fights are nicely photographed and fittingly brutal and the acting good, then Brawler could certainly be a contender.

That's it. As always, thanks for making CNAMB a part of your day, and I hope you found a few trailers here that have given you that loving feeling that you had previously thought you'd lost.

The 2010 Horror Box Office

2010 played out as a year where studios cashed in on the box office draw of the horror genre based off the previous year's numbers. There were quite a few horror films that made their way into theaters in 2009, and overall the numbers were not too bad as far as performance goes, which reflects greatly on 2010 where there were even more cinematic horror releases for moviegoers to choose from.

As was the case with 2009, the horror seemed to come in droves. With an overload of bloody releases coming in the months of August, September and October, the horror genre was once again competing with itself. Still, there were a few genre films that made an impact, however, the non-sequel/non-remake movie presence could have been better on the higher grossing end of the spectrum, but remakes weren't exactly the biggest splash this past year, either. Alright, lets take a loot at the (domestic) numbers and positions for the films that made an impact at the box office in 2010. 

Unsurprisingly, at the number 4 spot, Twilight Saga: Eclipse simply pulled in straight cash, homey, with over 350 million bucks. As much as people will cry about it not being "their" type of horror, it's still a vampire story, which makes it something that shouldn't be ignored in this situation. The previous Twilight film also came in at number four in 2009 but made under 300 million at the box office, so it looks like the Saga will continue to grow, despite the discontent for it by so many.

Balancing out the Twilight scales a little bit was Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, which pulled in at a solid number 16 for 2010. Regardless of some genre fans debating its validity as a horror film, Shutter Island was able to scare up a nice chunk of change with 128 million dollars. This is something that reflects upon the fact that there is still an audience eager for something original and made with some sort of respect to their intelligence.     

In what I would have never expected, the number 34 film, Paranormal Activity 2, did very well at the box office with a gross of over 84 million dollars. I also never expected it to be any good, either, but the general consensus with horror fans was that it was a solid sequel to a film that didn't really need a part two attached. Either way - no matter what the fans thought - even if the budget was much higher than that of the first film, it still made all that dough with a measly cost of 3 million bucks. So I think it's safe to say we can keep a look out for PA3 next October. You heard it hear first! Or probably somewhere else, but I'll just pretend like I broke the story.

Sleepwalking in at number 46, A Nightmare On Elm Street received harsh criticism from most horror fans and critics alike. I know it's that negative talk that has kept me from taking a chance and seeing the film yet (but it is inevitable), and I think that word of mouth spread to box office as the film only dreamt up a measly 63 million dollars. In comparison to its 35 million dollar production budget, it's a modest hit, sure, but I think the return of Freddy was expected to be a lot bigger than it was.  

After a long and difficult road to the big screen, The Wolfman won over more horror fans than I think most people would have ever expected. However, sitting not so pretty at number 48, with an intake of 61 million dollars, the film didn't do so hot. Especially in comparison to an estimated budget of 150 MILLION BUCKS! Train wreck, indeed. Taking the 50th spot in 2010 was the never say die franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife, which I think might still have a long afterlife with a 60 million dollar domestic run. Now, that doesn't sound great since it had a 60 million dollar budget, but with a worldwide gross of over 233 million bucks, it's a sure bet that Alice isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The mostly welcome non-vs. Predators did modestly pulling in 62 million to nab the number 62 spot for the year, which isn't too bad when compared to the 40 million dollar budget the movie movie was made for. And with the addition of a new dimension and the possibility of it being the final film in the franchise, Saw 3D came back from 2009's poor showing, bringing in almost 46 million dollars (more than double the 20 million dollar production cost) to take the 66 spot.

Hitting the final stretch at 72, The Last Exorcism showed a strong presence with a 41 million dollar intake. The film was budgeted at less than 2 million, so there's really nothing but upswing there for both the cash generated as well as for lower-budgeted horror. Box office intake-to-budget factored in for both the 74 and 75 spots, Legion and The Crazies. The former pulled in 40 million over its 26 million dollar budget, with the latter hitting just under 40 million with a budget of 20.

There were plenty of other theatrical horror films that came out in 2010, but they, unfortunately, did jack shit when it came to nabbing any sort of audience. When I did this look back in 2009, the (higher end) horror box office had seven original films, three sequels and only two remakes. In 2010, we had three original films, five sequels (Predators being a sequel, in my correct opinion *wink-wink*) and three remakes. I can't say if it looks much better than it did last year as the remakes all didn't do the greatest, but there were a handful of original films that couldn't even make the cut in 2010. Sequels, on the other hand, may have showed just why they will always be a part of our lives, which is okay with me. Kind of. It'll be interesting to see what 2011 brings us (more sequels), and hopefully what it does bring is a few quality horror films for us to look back on in a year from now.

Stepfather Factory

So it's father's day and with that comes the need to do something thematic, as well as the need to put myself through some possible torture at the same time. Sadly, the first thing that came to mind when I thought, "what can I do for father's day?" was to do a review of The Stepfather remake. It's on instant view and chances are it will make for an interesting review. Maybe.

In a way, there isn't all that much to say about The Stepfather narratively. It's a remake that follows the 1987 movie pretty closely, which is basically about a man that only wishes to have the perfect family, but when that systematized delusion is not met, this "stepfather" discards of his family by killing them, then moves on to his next family and the possible chance for unified family bliss. He finds a venerable woman, whom, thanks to a recent divorce, is single with kids and he swoops in with a gallon bucket full of charm, working his way into their lives in the hopes of forming the ideal family.

The Stepfather was directed by Nelson McCormick, a man who has directed a ton of television but is best known to horror fans as the director of Prom Night 2008. I reviewed that film some time ago over at Paracinema, and while I wasn't a big fan, I knew it was not made for my eyes as they are too old for that film. It was made for those youngsters and their skateboards. Still, it was a terrible movie, so what can I expect when McCormick comes back for yet another tween-geared remake of an 80’s horror film? Not much, but it is better than Prom Night at least.

As with Prom Night, The Stepfather is technically adept, but very standard at the same time. There is little to no creativity, but it does work as a functional film. The same can be said for the acting, which is nothing special, but everyone is solid, with Dylan Walsh's performance being well played and creepy enough, while not nearly as memorable as what was done by the ever so intense Terry O'Quinn.

Even if the film is close to competent, it also fails where so many unoriginal horror movies do. There is a so bad it hurts jump scare, with a cat no less, which caused me to punch my own cat in retaliation. There is a moment where a window is broken in the basement using the sound of thunder as cover…because a window being smashed in and thunder sound so much alike. The family that is chosen by the stepfather has three siblings, one that would be the main focus, while oddly enough, the other two are hardly ever around, especially the younger sister who is seen no more than two or three times. Then there's the whole cell phone ringer issue that is just going to cause my blood pressure to rise if I get into it, so I'll leave it at that.

Something that stood out like a sore dick was the obvious product placement. Every character uses a Mac, which is whatever, but the one that had me shaking my head in disbelief was the amount of time the game Burnout Paradise spends on screen. There is a least three moments where the kids are shown playing it, with a close up of the screen no less, but the kicker is the game's case is actually propped up at one point, right in front of the TV in which they are using. I can somewhat give a pass to a character drinking a mountain dew or some shit, but who props up a game case in front of their television? It was painfully lame.

Being better than Prom Night isn't much of a stretch, and I think it's only better due to this version staying on the rails of the original more than Prom Night did. However, that does play into the films lack of originality, and at least Prom Night tried to be its own movie, whether or not it was awful. The Stepfather is completely predictable, and even if it wasn't a remake, it is like so many movies that have come before it, from frame one, you know exactly what will happen in the film's runtime. You know that there are characters that will question the motives of the titular character, and you know he will end their life short to keep his cover and his dream of the perfect family alive. You know that the oldest child will be weary of this new man in his family’s life, and will spend the runtime trying to figure out what this dudes deal really is. It's overly dramatic familiarity.

One thing that is definitely better about this remake compared to Prom Night is the fact that one of the two main characters is an adult. That keeps the teen aspect to a lesser degree, as he is the main focus over the eldest son. While the "teen" aspect is there, complete with shitty pop-punk-commercial-rock music, it was all slightly acceptable due to how the presence of Amber Heard (who is best known to horror fiends as the titular character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) is handled.

I can see where those boys are coming from after seeing The Stepfather. While this kept me interested way more than much of the film, it is oddly gratuitous and exploitative in a movie that other wise remains cookie cutter and almost safe. She's good in the movie, but her character serves no other reason than to look hot in string bikinis or to have her tits falling out the top of her shirt. And the fact that Mandy Lane has yet to see a release, but The Stepfather has, speaks volumes to the injustice that is life for the horror fan.

Poor product placement, an unoriginal and predictable premise, good looking-half naked teens, catchy pop music, easily digestible…in the end, The Stepfather is nothing short of Hollywood exploitation by way of a PG-13 rating.

Diapers In A Bunch

It has recently dawned on me that I hardly get excited by most horror news anymore. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I am swept up by some big announcement, new trailers, stuff like that, but that doesn't seem to happen too often lately. I like to have my interest piqued, and it takes a lot to grab my attention, and then keeping my attention is even more difficult. Once in a while there is a film that begs to be ingested and has me clamoring for more. But more often than not, there isn't all that much I really need to know about a movie past a trailer or two, a couple of posters, and eventually a review.

I find a major annoyance with most internet horror news sites and what they deliver as "relevant" horror news, as it's mostly just boring and pointless filler. For example: "Hey horror fan, watch 96 new clips from Splice!" or "Oh snap, Jennifer Aniston is gonna be in Scream 4?!" or "C'mon, of course Jennifer Aniston's Scream 4 casting is a rumor. Duh?!" or "Here is another new trailer for REC 2! It's the brand new UK trailer, and it's new!" How about, I don't fucking care about a new trailer for REC 2 - how about, I only care about the DVD release date for REC 2, so I can go to the store and buy it. How about that? I saw trailers for REC 2 two years ago, and I can buy it on Amazon UK. A new trailer is not news to me.

I'm not even trying to place blame solely on the horror sites, even though it seems as if I just did. Obviously, being a fan of horror, I love horror sites, I just wish there wasn't so much bullshit on them sometimes. I notice and get most annoyed by it when news is especially slow. Being that this is mainly a horror blog, I receives some press release stuff from different companies here and there. Not like a website, or even like many of the bigger blogs, but I get mines. Now, it's cool getting those emails because it makes me feel…well, kind of special, but most of these emails are giving me news that is on par with what I just complained about in that last paragraph. It's pretty rare that I get one with something interesting and worth doing a post about. So I don't.

I guess a lot of the blame for that should be placed on marketing and companies throwing movie sites teeny tiny bones that have no meat, but they are still eaten up anyways and plastered as the newest headline. It's how these companies are keeping their product on the minds of horror fans with out giving up anything of real substance. Why do we need 6 boring new clips from so and so movie? We don't. Well, I don't, I just want to watch the movie, that's all.

Yeah, I know…waaah.

8 is Great?!

Finally set in stone, the 8th and final film has been announced for the 4th annual After Dark Films Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For line-up. Written by Kelly Palmer and directed by Chris Moore, Kill Theory is about a group of seven college friends that celebrate their upcoming graduation at a secluded vacation home. Things take an ugly turn when the group encounter a sadistic unknown madman who forces them to kill one another in order to survive. Whomever is left standing at 6 am the next morning, is the one that is allowed to walk away with his or her life.

Sounds interesting enough to me and Kill Theory seems to have elements of Saw and even a bit of Cabin Fever and Battle Royal in a way. All of the After Dark Films acquired for the upcoming festival (which begins January 29th) have a lot of promise and I have already heard positive things about Lake Mungo, which is one that I really wanted to check out even before reading a few solid reviews.   

Now that the movies are all in place, there is a tight little trailer for the festival and to be completely honest, it gets me pumped for this line-up and I have pretty high hopes for it. There have been some real gems in the previous three installments, but those gems were hidden in piles of mediocre-to-bad. I would love to see After Dark come out with a strong set of movies, if not for the fact that they are spotlighting independent horror cinema and giving films a chance that might not have gotten one any other way. And while I will more than likely not have any chance to see any of them ‘round these parts, at least I know there will be a DVD release soon enough. 

When a non-foreign language trailer for Kill Theory is available, I will be sure to post it, but for now, here is the trailer for the festival itself. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the line-up’s potential and what you think looks good!

The 2009 Horror Box Office

There was an incredibly strong presence of horror in theaters this year, in fact, there was almost too many at one point. Late in July, Orphan and The Collector came out, followed by The Perfect Getaway in the beginning of August, then, on the same exact day, The Final Destination and Halloween 2 (or H2 if you're hip to be square) went head-to-head in a battle to end all battles (okay, maybe not end all)! By time we got to September, with even more films like Sorority Row, Pandorum, Whiteout, and Jennifer's Body, the horror market was flooded and nobody gave a shit anymore. I try and see as many horror films as I can theatrically, as long as their horror films that are appealing and promising, but there's no way you can be successful in a genre with such an overkill. We can't afford it! At least I can't and if you can, then good on ya...and give me some loot sucka!

Still, even with that said, horror also had a decent presence at the box office this year too and while we're not talking top of the box office numbers, we are looking at how much money some of these films brought in. A movie can pull in $40 million and look like a near flop, but if the budget is only $15 to $20 million, well, you can call that a minor success. This is that case with most of the horror genre as is the case with many of the releases I am going over here today. These are the movies that made some bank, whether it be a whole lot, or just enough to keep some dignity and presence. *Note all these figures are time sensitive and as updated as I freaking feel like, okay?! Oh, and they're domestic. Oh-oh, and fahkin Avatar makes all this just that much more difficult*

I'd be iniquitous if I didn't start at one of the highest grossing films of the year...and since I have never seen any of these films, I won't waste anytime taking unfair shots at them, but they are a part of the horror genre (maybe not yours or mine), whether some would like to admit it or not. The 4th highest grossing horror film of '09 was The Twilight Saga: New Moon with $$280,924,000 and still going. No real surprise and with figures like that, no need to even bother comparing them to the budget - these films make bank and bubblegum that you can buy at FYE.

Now while New Moon was the highest grossing horror release of the year, the most successful film of the year, period, was Paranormal Activity, which came in at number 27 with a whopping $107,735,000. Compare that number to a budget of $15 thousand and you have the second coming of Blair Witch. This would be the best thing for horror in many ways and the worst thing too. These numbers really show what can be done with some drive and passion, but the imitations are sure to come, with plenty of Hollywood bullery (is that a word?) putting in their two unnecessary cents. However, Paranormal Activity being more than a few years old is from the Blair Witch influence if you ask me, as well as Cloverfield, [REC], and all the other handy cam films of late, so I think Blair Witch's shadow is long looming and maybe imitation isn't such a bad thing after all.

In what was a bit of a surprise, Zombieland landed at the number 38 spot with $75,590,286. Compared to a $23.6 million dollar budget, the film was very successful, in a time when most people are so tired of Zombie films - especially ones going the comedic route. I liked the film and am very happy that it did well - in fact, it did well enough that a sequel is already in the works. Zombieland barely nudged out the 39th most highest grossing film of the year, which was Coraline and its gross of $75,286,229. Not really a horror movie you say? Well, it isn't, but it comes pretty darned close and Coraline was one of the darkest children's animation films I have seen in quite some time. Unfortunately, the numbers for the film aren't so good when compared to its $60 million dollar budget, but it did okay at least.

The Final Destination flew in and landed at number 46 with $66,477,700 and with a budget of $40 million; this is a franchise that has really showed up with every release. What's more impressive, is this came out directly against Zombie's H2 and completely slaughtered it at the box office, which if you've seen H2, it shouldn't be a surprise. At 49, every ones favorite remake, Friday the 13th slashed it's way in with $65,002,019 against a $19 million dollar budget. More than enough to reignite the franchise, which received very mixed reviews from horror fans. I personally liked it...enough.

All right, I'm gonna speed this up - things are getting repetitive and you probably aren't even reading anymore...and if you aren't, then I'm taking you off my booty call list. Maybe. Alrighty, The Haunting in Connecticut with $55,389,516 came in at 55 overall, but no clue what the budget was since it's not available anywhere. Strange?! A nice surprise was My Bloody Valentine 3-D doing $51,545,952 to its budget of $15 million and taking the 59 spot. Even with a hottie swap, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans took the 63rd place with an okay $45,802,315 compared to $35 mil budget. While The Unborn only did decent numbers wise with $42,670,410, in comparison to its $16 million budget, it actually did pretty darned good and took the 66th spot.

And finally, capping things off at the lower end of success, the 67 and 69 (Dude!) spots were filled by fan favorites Drag Me to Hell with $42,100,625 against a $30 million budget and Orphan with $41,596,251. No budget available for Orphan either, but I cannot imagine it costing more than $30 million. Considering that Drag Me to Hell was out of theaters faster than you can say, "This isn't Spider Man" it actually did quite well. Imagine if it had just a few more weeks... Orphan, on the other hand, was near death its entire run, but had a bit of staying power with positive word of mouth and steady numbers, which were just enough to keep it afloat.

So, there you have it, the year in horror from a theatrical standpoint. By the numbers there are seven original films, three sequels, and only two remakes in this batch, so that shows some progress towards seeing some original genre releases in theaters. I personally saw six of these films and liked all six, so I am batting a 1000 in that department and that is a testament that all hope will never be lost, no matter how powerful the fad. Hopefully 2010 will bring even better horror films for us to go and spend way too much money on and right off the bat we are getting Case 39 on January 1st, followed by Daybreakers on the 8th and Legion on the 22nd (though I doubt that will go wide, unlike your mom). Not a bad way to start the New Year at all. Of course, I would love to hear your take on the 2009 year in horror and whether or not you were satisfied by what was to be seen in theaters. That is if you read this far - if you did, then thank you for being a freind!

Paranormal Activity

There are enough spoilers in this review to warrant a warning to anyone that has not yet seen the film...sorry.

When you have a movie such as Paranormal Activity, you are going to run into a wide variety of reactions from an even wider variety of people. Whether it be genre fans, or just your average casual moviegoer, it is almost fascinating what one person finds frightening and another person doesn't. Much like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity is a story of success, a story of simplicity delivered through a means created by budgetary restraints and a desire to make a movie no matter how many roadblocks were faced. And of course, the desire to scare people.

Written and directed by Oren Peli, Paranormal Activity has a plot as basic as my cable. Katie (Katie Featherston) and her semi-long-term boy toy, Micah (Micah Sloat) have been experiencing...ahem, some Paranormal Activity (I suck) when they decide that they want to try to capture these ghostly-goings-ons on video tape. Of course, they do capture something and this something they capture might not be the friendliest of ghosts, and things escalate for Micah and Katie as they try to deal with this unwanted visitor.

Easy enough, right? Sure, but here's the thing, the ghost, or spirit, or whatever, has been following Katie around since she was a little girl, creating havoc for her throughout her entire life. With Katie dealing with such torture for so long, she has grown very fearful of this invisible antagonist, almost to the point where she knows not to instigate it anymore than need be. Micah, on the other hand, is fascinated by this unseen menace and not having the same history as Katie has had with this haunting, he has no real fear of it, nor any sense of respect for what it is capable of...whether or not Katie warns him before hand.

This is really where some of the strength in Paranormal Activity lies, the characters are extremely well written and very realistic in many ways that some would not like to admit. You are seeing very broad typical characterizations of the average man and women, and how they interact with one another, especially when faced with trauma.

Katie is a little whiny, needy, and open to any sort of suggestion, that isn't coming from the man she loves, Micah. She will only rely on him for protection when she chooses - shuts him down when she doesn't need it and she is easily irritated by anything he does, almost to the point that it is unfair to Micah. Katie has every reason to be scared by what is going on in a way since she has been plagued by this menace for so long, but it is unfair for her to think Micah can fully understand what is going on, when this is his first exposure to such events. The fact that she didn't share her past haunting experience with Micah until she has already moved in with him and it started happening to them both shows her selfishness also.

Micah is not afraid of the haunting's so much as he is fascinated by them. It is his idea to set up the cameras and even when Katie constantly warns they are making things worse, he still continues to use them. Micah is all for communicating with the ghost via a Ouija board no matter what the warning are, and much like a child, he almost sees it as fun at first and it shows his immaturity. When things do escalate, he feels it is up to him to take care of the situation, he feels he must protect his girlfriend and his home without any help from anyone else. Like most men, including myself, Micah is slightly egotistical and his ego clouds what would be better judgment for the fear of not being in control. He constantly promises Katie that he will figure this out for her and he really does try to, because he cares about her, but he also doesn't want to not be in control of the situation as much as he wants to protect her.

Now, do I think the film is scary? Paranormal Activity has been heralded as the scariest movie of all time, or of this decade and so on, whatever. How any movie can live up to that expectation is unfair to say the least. Especially when "average asshole Joe" has no clue about the movie outside of it being referred to as the "scariest movie of all time," then seeing Paranormal Activity and ultimately being disappointed by the lack of visual apparitions. This is the same shit that happened with Blair Witch...many disliked it saying that it wasn't scary because they didn't see anything, because nowadays, people are so used to seeing everything, that when challenged to use their imagination, they are not capable of doing so.

What you are seeing in this film is what I would guess you would see (or not see) in real life and that is what either frightens people, or completely turns them off. For me, I find the simplicity of a door shutting by itself, or a chandelier rocking back and forth from an unknown force to be scary, as opposed to being shown an actual ghost or having a creature be shown. Being shown something can be scary too, if done well of course, but it is easier to distance myself from the events in a movie like The Orphanage, for example, than it is a film set in a normal everyday house with a faceless assailant. This almost goes back to what worked in the first half of Jaws; it was more frightening to see the results and actions of the shark, without actually seeing the shark itself. You know what's there creating the chaos without seeing it, and it's what it is capable of that is the most effective aspect.

Some can say you do not see anything in Paranormal Activity, yet when you do in the form of a possessed Katie; it is the worst part of the film and seems like an unnecessary sight used just to put a face to the menace. Putting a face to the menace to appease moviegoers who want to see "something." That is really my only complaint about the film and I much prefer the alternative endings that I have seen/read about, but it is what it is. I found Paranormal Activity to be quite scary and it is a scary that has lasted with me for a few days...it is easy to relate to the events because they are plausible and they can happen to you in your natural setting. I will forever be creeped out by the often-used static camera shot from inside Katie and Micah's bedroom, waiting to see what was going to happen next in what area of the hallway...or seeing nothing, and only hearing loud bangs or footsteps, not knowing what was to come from those noises.

As I have expressed in a recent post, I am extremely happy that Paranormal Activity has done so well and this is the second film in ten years to come from nothing and sweep the nation. This film is the opposite of Hollywood and for it to do well almost balances things out in the big picture. It takes thing back a little and shows that you can do so much with so little, and I don't completely mean money wise either so much as I mean what can be done to scare people with simple film making techniques. Whether or not it scared you is one thing, but it has put a little poopie in a whole lotta moviegoers pants to make it one of the most successful films of the year...so it has done something right. Word is born.

David VS Goliath

How fitting is it that a horror film with a budget estimated somewhere between $11-15 thousand dollars would be the movie to knock off the almighty Saw? Paranormal Activity came in first place this weekend with a solid $22 million in what is essentially its fifth week. Saw VI "saw" very little in terms of business for an opening weekend with $14.8 million (and played in over 1,000 theaters more than P.A.), only barely beating out Where the Wild Things Are which took in $14.4. I am not a fan of the Saw films and I admittedly have not given the entire series much of a chance outside of the first film and about half of the the third movie, but it's just not my thing. So, I am thrilled that an independent film, made for peanuts, was the one to take Halloween back from the franchise that is as far as you can get from the Halloween spirit in my eyes.

Even more impressive is the difficult road that Paranormal Activity has navigated to get to where it is today. I remember seeing trailers for it way back in late 2007 when Paranormal Activity was grouped in with a slew of other handheld horror films like Cloverfield, Diarrhea of the Dead, [REC], and the still yet to be released, The Poughkeepsie Tapes. I was excited for all of these films, and two out of the three that were released really delivered for me...but still, Paranormal Activity, the one I wanted to see the most, was nowhere to be found.

This homemade horror film was almost an unfortunate remake victim partially due to Steven Spielberg loving it after he had gotten his hands on a copy through DreamWorks (Spielberg also thought the film was haunted...dork.). After a strong showing at a screening the original film was set to be released in 2008, but issues with DreamWorks and Paramount yet again halted the release of the film. And finally, about a month ago, the movie was released in a very limited amount of theaters with the whole Demand It! marketing strategy that eventually got the film released in more and more theaters. The more theaters it got in, the better Paranormal Activity performed at the box office, the better it performed, the more theaters it got into. Until now, where the film is released wide and beating fucking Saw VI on its opening weekend, on its own turf nonetheless.

I may come off as bashing Saw, and I kind of am, but I'm just so tired of so many formidable movies getting left on the back burner, while another Saw film comes out and is successful. Successful because of the lack of head to head competition the Saw films have had by other horror movies the past five Halloweens. I'm completely over the annoying, and ridiculously terrible commercials stating "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw!" That's not the Halloween I celebrate, Mr. Man! It's almost poetic that Paranormal Activity would travel the long and difficult path it has to make it to where it is now, being the number one film in the country just before Halloween. Until a few days ago, the nearest theater that was playing Paranormal Activity was an hour and a half away - now with its strong box office showing, it is playing at a theater much closer, still 45 minutes from home, but I'll take it.

Wish I Could Experience Some Paranormal Activity...

If you have been following the hot horror stories recently or more specifically today, you may have heard about the limited release of Paranormal Activity in theaters this weekend. If you are not aware of the movie, it is about a couple that decide to do a little of their own investigating (with the use of home video equipment) when they are experiencing some intense "Paranormal Activity" in their new home. The film is directed by Oren Peli and has gotten insanely positive reviews - the news over at Bloody Disgusting is 4,500 waited in one line alone to see their screening of the latest in independent vérité styled fright cinema. That is just crazy! And it gets me excited for the film as all of this will hopefully get some gears moving, and get it into more theaters! Paranormal Activity is a film I have been dying to see for what feels like forever and I hope it does make its way to a theater near me, though there isn't many cinemas down my end, there still could be a chance. One of the big marketing things has been the Demand It! strategy, where all you have to do is a little clicky click and enter your zip code and crap, hopefully resulting in the movie generating enough interest to play in your hood. Even if you do not want to see the film, it would be cool as ice if you did the Demand It! thing anyways, just to show some support for an independent horror film - remember...it's up to YOU to take back horror in theaters!

Here is a link to the films website, along with a link to the Demand It! thing...this movie deserves more than a limited release, and if we learned one thing from The Blair Witch Project, there is plenty of room for low-budget creatively made horror in our cinemas. Lets make room for Paranormal Activity!

Back in the Lab Again

Wow...does a week and a half feel like an eternity when it's spent away from the services provided by my computer - I am beginning to get my bearings back, but I certainly missed a lot of movie news, trailers, and crap like that while doing the whole moving thing. Moving also made it a little difficult to make it out to the movies to see The Final Destination, but hopefully I will get the chance to peep it before it takes off into the "wait two months for DVD" limbo. I have heard some positive reviews along with the nice job TFD has done in the box office, especially in comparison to H2, which went straight to the crapper after the numerous terrible reviews and the continued strong showing of Inglourious Basterds and District 9. And that's another one that I have yet to see (District 9 I mean), but hope to before it's too late. Doesn't make it any easier with Sorority Row just coming out and getting decent reviews along with the release of the post apocalyptic animation film 9, a movie that I have been dying to see. Then there's Whiteout, another film that I'm really looking forward to watching, even though reviews have been a little on the whack side.

Oh woe is me, complaining about the over saturation of genre films that I'm interested in playing in theaters...whaaah! I'm not really complaining, but sometimes if I don't see a movie when it comes out theatrically, I won't see it for a very long time - so I try to see what I can at the cinema as far as stuff that looks or promises to be good. In the end, I am happy to see such an abundance of films that are worthy of Baby Eating and the few that I have seen have been quite good and done well money wise (save for H2), so I hope the trend keeps up. Probably not though.

As I said, I missed out on a ton of shit, and I have been scoping out the webs to find the stuff that I would think is most excellent as far as news and/or trailers. First of all, I am very eager to hear more about any news concerning an 8 disc box set of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy. Some of my all time favorite films are in that trilogy, and while I have some proper releases of these movies already, this promises to be the definitive set of the master filmmaker’s revenge trilogy - with what I can only imagine will be super killer extras. You can check here for some very minor details, but this is the best news that I have heard since my little hiatus for sure.

Apparently, Victor Salva is working on getting a third installment of Jeepers Creepers off the ground. If everything comes together as planned, the film would be subtitled Cathedral and set 23 years after the events in the first movie while also bringing back Gina Phillips character, Trisha with her teenage son Darry, named after her brother that was snatched up in the first movie. I am certainly interested in another sequel, I really liked the first Jeepers Creepers, but the sequel was a disaster of epic proportions, on top of being a major disappointment with what was a good idea premise wise. However, I have heard of massive on set issues with namely a good portion of the cast not showing up for work and things of that nature. Though that may have been a factor, it's still not really much of an excuse for how many holes the films plot had. Jeepers Creepers 2 did decently in theaters, not sure if it was good enough to garner a theatrical release for a third film, but if it did come to fruition, it would be nice to see it in theaters.

Along my journeys, I strolled upon this teaser trailer for one of many Glass Eye Pix films that look to be promising, the movie is called Bitter Feast and is about a Chef that takes revenge on a food critic that gave his grub a bad review. Sounds like a fun little idea if executed properly, I do find it funny that Uber Chef, Mario Batali will actually be playing a character in the film, and I dig this simple and very fun little teaser that they put together here, which isn't surprising since this is the same company behind Hypothermia which had a teaser that I was raving about a few weeks ago.



Maybe the biggest surprise for me is this trailer for Solomon Kane that just plain looks amazing. Based off the pulp writings of Robert E. Howard, who is better known for creating Conan "the freaking" Barbarian, Solomon Kane looks to be along the lines of something like Van Helsing (if it didn't eat ass) meets Brotherhood of the Wolf. In my opinion, that is a very good thing. Check out the trailer stat!


Alrighty, that is enough catching up for now - it is nice to be somewhat caught up with a good majority of what is going on movie wise. Even better is the fact that I can get back to posting here regularly again. I do have some interesting things to say about my new surroundings movie wise, as I live in a very different area from before a few weeks ago, but that will be something I save for another day. Until then, always remember to cook all babies thoroughly as we are not responsible for any food born illness that you may encounter.

Halloween Pooh

My original Destination on Friday night was meant to be a Final one, but due to an error, my buddy picked up tickets to the 2-D showing of The Final Destination as opposed to the "in yo face" version of the film. So with time constraints lingering over our heads, we opted to check out Rob Zombie's second incarnation of his rebooted Halloween series. I am one of the few that didn't completely hate the first Halloween remake, I thought the theatrical version had some solid moments, but the film mostly suffered from too much being crammed into one uneven story. The DVD release on the other hand, was different enough from the theatrical release to almost make the film unbearable, but I would rather not spend time on remake past, so I'll just get into my thoughts on Halloween II already.

I'm not planning on spending too much time on this film, because it is clearly not worth spending too much time on, and I would gather that most that have seen the film would agree with me, though I haven't seeked out any one else's thoughts on the film to really know what other horror fans think. I actually liked the first 35 minutes of Halloween II; it was going along at a good pace as it took off right where the first film had ended. There are some grotesque little touches that were satisfying to the sadistic horror fan in me, and the way everything is shot and presented is quite impressive. Halloween II's first act, if you will, works as a pretty solid Slasher film, a Slasher that is very mean spirited with some harsh moments strewn about, but then, the 35 minute mark hits.

If you have, or if you will see Halloween II, you will know what happens at the 35 minute mark that made me think to myself "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" And things just went downhill from that moment and just continuously got worse the longer the movie went on. Story wise, Halloween II is basically Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) coming back to life, where he then proceeds to spend almost the entire film, making his way back to Haddonfield so he can have a sort of "family reunion" with his kid sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). With her parents murdered in the first Halloween, Laurie is now living with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif aka CHUCKY!) and his daughter/Laurie's best bud, Annie (Danielle Harris) who survived a brutal attack via Myers, but lived so she could serve the plot of the very film we are discussing here.

The other main character from the first Halloween making a return is Dr Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), who amazingly still has eyeballs after what seemed to be his demise in the first film. To me, Loomis seems to have absolutely no point in this film except to serve as the catalyst for Laurie finding out that Myers and she are siblings (via his new book). Other than that, he serves no other real purpose except to be a separate story line that is just meant as filler material for when Myers wasn't eating dogs, or when Laurie wasn't hanging out in crusty bathrooms covered in graffiti and draped in bad florescent lighting.

Another recurring character is Misses Voorhees err...I mean, Misses Myers as played by Sheri Moon Zombie. I personally have no problem at all with Rob Zombie using his wife in his films, she's not a great actress, but at times she is serviceable, plus I think she's pretty hot, though she unfortunately refrains from showing her butt crack in this movie. Butt...her character in this film is that of a ghostly apparition, and how her ghostly appearance serves the plot is just plain terrible, on top of her showing up five times too many - with a horse to lame it up a bit. I won't go into detail as to what purpose Mama Myers serves, but it is one of the bigger issues with Halloween II's story line.

Another big problem with the story is situations are created for the soul purpose of having someone to kill for Michael Myers. This happens in plenty of Slasher films, sure, but it seems like it happened more in Halloween II, than in your average film of the genre. I did get a kick out of the kills for the most part, they are very mean spirited, and there isn't anything silly, or unrealistic about them - every murder is very harsh and simple, but still disturbingly satisfying. I was honestly kinda shocked at how much violence got by the MPAA, and for them to garner Halloween II an R rating is a big surprise. While I did like these kills, I think many horror fans will find them off putting, especially in the context of a Halloween movie. I don't mean Zombie's Halloween, but the original series. It may offend some of those fans, but this isn't the original series, so I'm fine with it.

Michael Myers look is something that should certainly get a shit load of classic Halloween fans all riled up. I think it's funny to be honest, so many complain about the essence of the original Michael Myers being completely disregarded, and how it's a travesty and an embarrassment to the original Boogeyman character from Halloween past to handle Michael Myers the way that Zombie does. However, if Zombie had made his films in the same vein as the original series, and stuck to those characteristics of Michael Myers, we would have something like Gus Van Sant's Psycho all over again...how did that one go over? I appreciate that Zombie has tried to make the character different, and his own; going a different direction gives us something new to watch, instead of treading the same shallow water that has been gone over numerous times in the original series. On top of that, in the sequels, Michael Myers usually looked pretty shitty in comparison to the '78 Carpenter film, so I would prefer a drastic change to the characters look over a moronic over sized mask like the ones found in the middle of the original franchise.

Personally, I thought the new, revamped, Myers looked very badass and it was nice to see a realistic take on the character. There are three different versions of Myers to be found in this movie - the first would be the classic look, the second would be the homeless Myers, and thirdly, a hybrid of the two styles. As I said, I like the realistic aspects of the character, and when you see Myers walking around in the woods without his mask, but rocking a seriously dope beard, it may be a little strange for some. But why would Myers be wearing a mask when he isn't killing people and no one is around? In addition, having a beard is much more plausible than having him shave - out in the woods - with no bathroom - let alone a mirror or a place to keep his Mach 3 and shaving gel (his skin is very sensitive).

As for how the movie is actually made, on a technical level, Halloween II has some seriously impressive scenes, with a style all Zombies own. This dude has real talent, and people who say other wise are being obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious. There are moments where his grimy white trash look shines through in fantastic ways, but there is this other side of him that drops the ball completely. It's almost like Zombie has two styles: One being the very pleasing to the eyes, subdued, gloomy, trashy look that shows his strength as a filmmaker. On the other hand, he has a repugnant side that is an overblown version of his trashy style of movie making. This is the style that was very prevalent in the utterly terrible House of a 1,000 Corpses. These are the scenes when everything becomes orange and the camera gets all wacky and wild! so distracting, and unbecoming of what is done in the rest of the film.

These loathsome techniques are mainly found in the strip club scene...yes, Zombie has once again found a way to fit in a strip club scene. But he really didn't find a way to fit it in, as it has nothing to do with the story line of the movie. Then there's the party scene. Ugh...I was so all done by time the party scene came to be - what part of Haddonfield would I look to find a place with hot girls dancing topless on separate stages, while some rockabilly band plays music...that everyone seems to like?! The scene reminded me of the Titty Twister found in From Dusk Till Dawn. However, the Titty Twister was in the deserts of Mexico, not in a fucking suburban area neighborhood!

In the end, I really wish that we had gone to see The Final Destination instead...at least I know what I'm getting out of that movie, and it is something that I usually really enjoy. I am a very forgiving person with my cinema, and can find some good in many movies that I probably shouldn't. With Halloween II, even though I dug some of the kills, Myers' look was appealing to me, and I liked most of Zombie's film style, there just wasn't enough good to offset the bad. I wouldn't say not to see Halloween II though, it may be worth it for some of the positive aspects I mentioned, and maybe you will be more forgiving than I. I'll probably watch it again, and chances are I will like it a little bit more, now that I know it sucks, and my low expectations are completely nonexistent.